Lesson Two: God Made Me Unique for a Reason (College/Adult)

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Sheila Stokes
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Lesson Two: God Made Me Unique for a Reason (College/Adult) Lesson Theme Every person is created unique they are one-of-a-kind and as such, God has a unique purpose for each and every person.

1 Lesson Two: God Made Me Unique for a Reason (College/Adult) Lesson Theme Every person is created unique they are one-of-a-kind and as such, God has a unique purpose for each and every person. It is vital that we see our uniqueness as that thing that God will use to bring about His purpose and will, because God made us unique for a reason. How will you be used by Him? Theme Verse 26 Brothers and sisters, look at what you were when God called you. Not many of you were wise in the way the world judges wisdom. Not many of you had great influence. Not many of you came from important families. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and he chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. (1 Corinthians 1:26-27 NCV)

2 Inductive Bible Discussion Guide Brief Explanation This discussion guide is designed for just that... discussion. When I lead discussion group Bible studies, I do not have answers anywhere in the material, o do I use a leade s guide ith all the a s e s itte i. This is INTENTIONAL! I believe that the discipleship process should be an encounter with God, not just listening to someone else tell you what words to write down to fill in the blanks. Our goal is to help you facilitate discovery learning for your students. As the questions are asked, every participant (including the leader) is e ui ed to sea h God s Wo d to dis o e the app op iate o sel of truth. When facilitators are 'armed' with all the answers, they are less likely to allow the time needed for individuals to process the question and formulate an answer. Don't be afraid of silence! That discovery process is the key to the success or failure of this process. It is in those moments of silence that we stop teaching and the Holy Spirit takes over! We cannot forget what Jesus said in John 16:13: whe he, the Spirit of truth, is co e, he will guide you i to all truth. A Lesso Co e ta y has ee i luded ith this pa ket. We encourage you to study the material contained in the commentary, but do not try to teach (aka lecture) your group from that material. Let it serve as a source of information for you to draw upon to help give context and perspective to the group discussion. For a deeper look at the issues presented herein, please look at the "Judges Teacher's Guide" or listen to the corresponding sermons ( For a deeper discussion of how to lead an inductive style, Bible dis ussio g oup, please do load the Leadi g S all G oup Bi le Studies esou e y li ki g HERE.

3 Ice Breaker Questions OPTION #1: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE? Give each student a copy of Activity Sheet 2.1 What Is You Favorite? a d ask the to a s e all te uestio s. After everyone has finished answering the questions, divide the room i to fou uad a ts. Ha e e e yo e ho a s e ed A o uestio o e go to o e uad a t. E e yo e ho a s e ed B to a othe a d so forth. By the end of the first question, everyone should be standing in one of the four quadrants. Then ask the second question. Within each quadrant, individuals who ha e the sa e a s e should fo a g oup. The say, If ithi you quadrant there is no one else that has the same answer that you do fo oth uestio s, the you ust etu to you seat. Continue through all ten questions; each time requiring those students who no longer have at least one person with all the same answers as theirs to return to their seat. If by some miracle you still have individuals who have all the same answers through question #10, ask one final question and do not let them communicate in any way before writing down their answer. The fi al uestio is: What is you fa o ite so g? This is ot a multiple choice question. Explain to the students how that everyone is unique because God eated the as a O e-of-a-ki d! OPTION #2: I AM UNIQUE BECAUSE Give each student a blank piece of paper. Ask them to complete the following sentence with one positive attribute that makes them unique from other people. After they have written one positive attribute that makes them unique, allow them to write one more of their unique characteristics only this time allow them to write anything positive or negative.

4 Discussion Guide Ask the students if they found it easier to write down their negative characteristic compared to the positi e o e. Ask the, Why do you thi k that it s easie to e egati e a out you self tha positi e? Cycle of Sin I ou fi st lesso, e lea ed a out a Cy le of Si. What e e the steps i that y le? [Use the Activity Sheet Cy le of Si as a isual aid.] Read Judges 3: Identify the various steps in the Cycle of Sin that are found here in this passage. Sin Judges 3:12a God s A ge Judges 3:12b Punishment Judges 3:13b-14 Repent Judges 3:15a Deliverance Judges 3:15b Peace This phase does not occur until Judges 3:30

5 Uniqueness or Weakness Who did God raise up as a deliverer against the Moabites? What was unique about this second judge? I today s o ld, ei g left-handed is considered normal, but throughout most of human history, it has been seen as abnormal, bad or weird. Have you ever felt inferior and looked down upon because you were different? How did that make you feel? An Unexpected Leader Compare and contrast Othniel (the first judge/deliverer) and Ehud (the second judge/deliverer). Understanding that both of these men were chosen by God, what type of person does God choose as a leader? Judge Othniel Ehud Physically Great Warrior Disabled Socially Famous Family Outcast for disability Politically Tribe of Judah the most prominent tribe Tribe of Benjamin Do you think God would choose to use you as a leader? Why or why not?

6 Read 1 Corinthians 1: Sometimes God chooses to use the socially or physically elite, such as Othniel; but oftentimes, God chooses to use people who are socially and physically weaker. Why? In what ways should this encourage us? An Unexpected Deliverance Ho did God use Ehud s eak ess ei g left-handed) to bring about the deliverance of Israel from Moab? (Judges 3:15-26) [If time permits, you may explore the following questions to dive further into the story of Ehud and Eglon. If not, continue the discussion in the next section, Our Weakness His Strength. ] What as Ehud s pla fo delivering Israel from the Moabites? What happened when Ehud went to the king to present the tribute? What was the secret message that Ehud had for Eglon? Why was it possible for Ehud to get away so easily?

7 Our Weakness His Strength Read Romans 5:6-. I ou eak ess, hat did God through Christ do for each one of us? Have you come to the place in your spiritual life where you have trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of sins? According to 2 Corinthians 5:16-18, how does God see us once we have trusted in Christ as our Savior? Spend a few moments thinking about how God has made you to be unique. Some of your unique characteristics may seem like weaknesses or flaws. Ask God to help you see yourself as He sees you. God eated you as o e-of-a-ki d. If you a e a elie e, you ha e ee e- eated i Ch ist fo a u i ue pu pose. What is God s pu pose fo your life? How might God use your weaknesses and flaws to accomplish His purposes?

8 Lesson Commentary Judges 3:12-30 With the death of the first judge, Othniel (3:11), the Israelites once again enter into a cycle of sin. Judges : says, A d the people of Is ael agai did hat as evil in the sight of the Lord. As a esult of thei si, God st e gthe ed Eglo the ki g of Moa agai st Is ael. The Moabite king o upied the City of Pal s o Je i ho. The fi st g eat i to y as they e te ed the P o ised La d occurred at Jericho. Now God has enabled their oppressor to rule over them from this same location. In Joshua 6:26, Joshua said: May the curse of the Lord fall on anyone who tries to rebuild the town of Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn son, he will lay its foundation. At the cost of his youngest son, he ill set up its gates. Understanding that the Moabite people are distant relatives of the Israelites (they are descendants of A aha s ephe, Lot, it is ost like that Eglo as a a e of the u se ut hose to defy the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Eglon, the king of Moab, is characterized in the text as a joke. Not only does it describe him as an extremely obese man, it also seems that he is not very smart which will become apparent as the story unfolds. It is somewhat ironic that God strengthened this man to overthrow the Israelites only to destroy him in almost a comical way. Who did God send to rescue them? What is significant about him being left-handed? God sent Ehud a left-handed man to deliver the Israelites from Moab. o Throughout the history of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome, the right hand was almost always associated with good and the left hand with evil. The th and 19 th Century were particularly hard on leftha de s, a d dis i i atio agai st the e a e e g ai ed a d i stitutio alized deli e ate a d sometimes brutal attempts to suppress left-handedness and impose conformity in the education syste e e e de i du i g this ti e [the] th Ce tu y physi ia Cesa e La oso ide tified left-handedness as a mark of pathological behavior, savagery and crimi ality. A essed o Ja ua y 13,

9 A o di g to Ti othy Kelle, If you look up the efe e es i the Bi le to ight ha d, you will find that they are all quite positive. God swears by his right hand, he has pleasures by his right hand, and his chosen One sits at his right hand (Isaiah 62:8- ; Psal : ; : Si e ost people e e right-handed, the right hand was a symbol of power and ability. You fought with your sword in your ight ha d. Judges for You, p 47) What kind of man does God choose to use? Othniel was your typical leader type. He was a warrior from a family of faithful men the younger brother of Caleb. He was from the tribe of Judah, the most prominent tribe. But most importantly, he was chosen by God. I Judges :, the Bi le says that Ehud as left-ha ded, o in the most literal sense he was u a le to use his ight ha d. Some scholars believe that he was disabled in some way. He was a so ial out ast. Kelle otes that i a so iety hi h as e e o e uel tha ou o to people who were physically handicapped, he would have ee o side ed i effe ti e Judges for You, pp 47-48). He as f o the t i e of Be ja i. I o i ally, the a e Be ja i ea s so of the ight ha d. In a general sense, Ehud was not a natural leader, but he was chosen by God! Why would God choose to use such a flawed individual? God is showing the world that His deli e a e ould ot o e i a pe fe t appe. I fa t, His ulti ate deli e a e as o as a baby in a feeding trough for animals! Paul reminds us of who we were before Christ in 1 Corinthians 1:26-27 (New Century Version): 26 Brothers and sisters, look at what you were when God called you. Not many of you were wise in the way the world judges wisdom. Not many of you had great influence. Not many of you came from important families. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and he chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chooses to use men such as this so that o hu a ei g ight oast i the p ese e of God (1 Corinthians 1:29). How did Ehud plan to go about delivering the Israelites from the Moabite oppression? The plan is for Ehud to go to the king of Moab on behalf of Israel who sent tribute to Eglon. This tribute was most likely a payment made to Eglon similar to taxes. Ehud fashioned a short, doubleedged sword or long dagger and he bound it to his right leg underneath his clothing. He planned to

10 use this dagger to kill King Eglon. Right-handed men carried their swords on their left leg. The idea was that Ehud s s o d would not be detected because it was hidden on his right side. When Ehud and his entourage went to present the tribute, the Bible says that nothing else happened immediately. He either did not get close enough to be able to use his dagger, or He had another plan all along. After giving the tribute and leaving, Ehud returned to the king and p o lai ed, I ha e a se et to tell you. So the ki g se t e e yo e a ay so that Ehud could share his secret after all, Eglon does not expect a disabled man would be any threat to him. The secret that Ehud had for Eglon was that his reign was over. Ehud killed the king with the short s o d he had ade. Whe he st u k hi a d th ust it i to his elly, e se says that the hilt also e t i afte the lade, a d the fat losed o e the lade a d the du g a e out. The he walked out the doors and locked them as he left. The smell coming from inside made the servants think that the ki g as elie i g hi self e e e e se. The se a ts aited a e a assi g amount of time until they found the key, opened the door and found Eglon dead on the floor. By that time, Ehud had already escaped. Activities & Games Activity Sheets/Coloring Pages 2.1 What Is Your Favorite? 2.2 Cycle of Sin More activities will be available by June15!

Twenty ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Liturgy of the Word with Children Te ite ga o te Kupu hei gā Ta a iki Prepared by the Liturgy Centre, Catholic Diocese of Auckland Twenty ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B Green To be a servant Hebrews